1. Reflect on your current assessment practices. How have you been determining what students understand and what they are able to do?
I have been determining what students understand in several ways. Most often I ask students questions, either orally, in the form of a journal entry, exit ticket or homework assignments. Depending on student responses I can tell if I should revisit topics, move on, or clear up specific misconceptions. I have also been requiring students to apply their learning in class to tasks such as making presentations, manipulatives, or in lab. I have also given projects as a means of assessment, such as the formal assessment I will be analyzing here.
2. Describe the concept(s) that you are trying to assess in these assignments. Include a link to the appropriate GSE(s) on RIScienceTeachers. Be sure to include in your description your definition, examples of what it is, why students have difficulty with this concept, and why it is important that you teach this topic
The formal assessment I designed was assessing student knowledge at the end of a unit on earthquakes. Students were expected to understand the motion of the earth during an earthquake, the way structures on the earths surface are affected by this movement. Students were asked to use the scientific method while constructing a bridge that would be capable of surviving during the movement caused by an earthquake. Student use of the scientific method is being assessed as a large part of this project as well.
Students had extensively looked at P-waves( Primary waves, body waves and compressional waves that initially are felt during an earthquake causing the least amount of damage), and S-waves(Secondary waves, body waves and transverse waves that follow the P-waves and cause most of the damage accrued during an earthquake).
Students have difficulty understanding the motion of the earth during an earthquake because it is more of an abstract concept. Until students actually get to do a lab to visualize how seismic waves move through the earth, they have a very difficult time understanding how energy is traveling through the earth to cause an earthquakes. This is a vital topic because earthquakes are something that generally occur in many places across the globe, and being aware of how these event occur and the effect they have on society will make students more aware of the world they live in. Students will also have a better idea of what to expect should they ever be in an area where earthquakes occur and they will understand what can be done to construct earthquake resistant structures.
I am also working with earthquakes in my informal assessment in a 9th grade physical science class. The concepts being assessed in this assignment are seismic waves. Students are already familiar with light waves, sounds waves, and mechanical waves.
Seismic waves
Students were being assessed on their knowledge of primary and secondary waves, and the ways in which these waves travel. Primary waves are compressional and the first waves released during an earthquake. They travel fastest and can move through solids and liquids. Secondary waves are transverse waves, and come after the Primary waves. They travel slower than Primary waves and cannot travel through liquids.
Students have issues working with these waves because waves are an abstract concept, and using a model such as a spring is useful in demonstrating how the waves move through the earth. It is helpful to teach this right after students have learned about other types of waves because they are already familiar with how waves have to travel through a medium and the ways they can move.
This is also important to teach so that students can understand the motion of the earth during quakes, and it is a beginning concept students need to learn before looking more deeply into plate tectonics and earthquakes.
This is very interesting. What do you think of:
Is it really the case that the P and S waves have different velocities? If so, why does this occur? Also: How exactly are the P and S waves related? (Why is one called "secondary?"
Isn't it interesting that you're teaching the same subject in middle and high school? Why? How did your treatments of the concepts differ?
3. (and 7) Describe an informal assessment that you selected, modified, or designed to address this concept. Summarize the instructions you gave your students and Include a link to the informal assessment here as well.
To assess student knowledge of Seismic Waves I used a homework worksheet. This worksheet consisted of : 8 Short answer questions. 7 of these questions required students to refer to a graph that is given on the worksheet, showing the Travel time and distance traveled by primary and secondary waves.
I instructed students to look over the graph before reading the questions, to make sure they understood what the graph was showing. I also reminded students to look over the questions before answering them to be sure they knew what the question was asking them to do. I then asked if they had any questions and then gave them one night to complete this assignment.
This could be an extremely interesting graph depending on whether students have studied motion. If they have, then this time vs position graph should be compared to the position vs time graphs they used to study motion.
4. (and 8) Create a formal assessment. Describe this assessment, including concepts, types of items, and how it was assessed. Include a link to a copy of the assessment here as well.
The formal assessment I chose was created to assess student knowledge of the motion of the earth during earthquakes and how structures on the surface are affected. Students built earthquake proof bridges in groups using simple materials and the scientific method. Students were given in class time to construct these bridges that would need to be able to adapt to the motion of the earth, they were also tested on an earthquake simulator and the project was assessed through a final write up. I have included a copy of the entire assignment as well as the different options students could have chosen to use for their final product.
It was assessed using a rubric I made in addition to the state writing rubric. Students were required to use the scientific method and specific criteria for format(such as 1 or 2 paragraphs per section).
The items in this assessment required students to do more than just regurgitate information, but to synthesize their own reasoning for building the bridges as they did.
Students could have gotten up to 105 points, and then the percentage of that value was taken as their grade for this assignment.
6. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your informal assessment or link it here. This description should include the assessment's features, how it addresses different depths of knowledge, as well as an explanation of how it addresses a scientific practice related to inquiry.
Key:
4 minutes
7 minutes
3000km
approximately 7000km
The time difference between primary and secondary waves becomes larger as the distance increases.
P-Waves will arrive first.
7 minutes
The P-wave will travel farther.
Students are being assessed at DOK level 2 in most items, where students are required to interpret the data in the given graph and are able to use that to answer the questions 1-8. Items 8 and 5 could easily have become DOK level 3 items if I were to have students explain their reasoning behind their responses.
This is addressing inquiry through asking students to analyze scientific models and problems. Students are using the graphed data as a model to understand the motion of P and S waves. Most items in this assessment require students to be able to understand and interpret the graph so they can explain at what rate P and S waves travel.
It appears that you did not actually require an explanation for either item 5 or 8 beyond a single sentence. How would you modify these questions to "raise the stakes" on what is expected?
7. & 8. - Already addressed above.
9. For your informal assesssment, upload scans of the work of three or four students. The work of each student should be on a different page. At the bottom of each students' page, you should describe the level of student understanding, e.g. high, average, or low, and describe how this is indicated in their answers. An example of how to do this is here. Note: Remember to name the pages you create carefully, e.g. "Smith S10 - High Performing" instead of "High-Performing."
It would have been nice if you had included interpretations of each set of student work. For example, did you notice that one of your "low performers" appeared to read each axis division on the graph 1 second instead of taking into account the scale on the vertical axis? How might this influence the instructions you provide for the assignment next time?
10. For you formal assessment, describe how you think it addressed the concepts you were trying to assess? How did you modify the assessment to address learning differences or special needs?
This assessment measured through the final write up what the students knew about how earthquakes affect the structures on the earths' surface and also how to prevent a structure from failing. Students were required to use the scientific method to explain how their own bridge was modified to accommodate the motion of the earth during an earthquake.
I modified this assessment for specific students with special needs by allowing them to write less for their write up. Several of the students in the class had special needs and were required (in thier 504 or IEP plans) to be allowed to write less for assignments. I also gave several options as to how this assignment could be completed, powerpoint, writing, or movie, that gave students with special strengths or weaknesses an opportunity to excel.
III. Analysis / Reflection
11. Use both the informal and formal assessments to describe what you learned about what your students understand about these concepts. Use specific examples from both the informal and formal assessment to illustrate your points. What can your students do now that they could not before, and what do they still need to learn?
I think that my students did learn quite a bit about the topics we worked on during my time instructing. I feel that with my formal assessment I can see the most clear examples of student learning. Students effectively worked the scientific method into their project on building bridges and were able to understand why earthquakes have such a devastating effect on many structures. Students gave specific examples of how they could improve their projects to better withstand the shaking caused by different seismic waves. In my informal assessment i feel it is a little bit less clear to know exactly what students have learned, simply because it is a small assessment and doesn't delve into more than just the behavior of P and S waves during an earthquake. I think that students have a hard time understanding the properties of waves because waves are an abstract concept for them, and they have a difficult time wrapping their mind around waves. I think that my students are much more efficient in analyzing data like graphs and explaining relationships as well as formulating ideas in respect to the scientific method. My students still need to learn how to create their own representation of data such as graphs and charts, which will be studied in class this week.
So helping your students understand the properties of P and S waves at a deeper level may be something to work on for next time?
12. OMIT
13. For your formal assessment only, select one student characteristic, e.g. ability, gender, age, etc) and compare the relative performance of each group. Hint: Use box and whiskers plots to compare the two groups. What do you conclude from this comparison? Why?
In my formal assessment the male students tended to do just slightly less well than the female students in each of my four sections of 7th grade earth science. Male students seemed to get much more involved in the actual building and breaking of the bridges than understanding or explaining what was going on, what processes were being used, and how to communicate that. The females seemed to overall do much better on the write up portion of this assignment than building efficient bridges. Overall, I think that this comparison shows that male students in this group are more hands on than the females. Stereotypically this should not come across as a surprize, however I did find it unusual that the males in each of my classes didn't score as well as the majority of the females in these classes.
Evidence? Box and Whiskers plot?
14. Describe any ways in which you involved students in self-assessment. How did you communicate what you learned from your informal and formal assessments to your students? What did they do with this information?
In the formal assessment students were involved in their own assessment by having been given the rubric they would be assessed with at the start of the project. Students were able to go through and circle the components of their project that they felt deserved specific grades/scores.
With the bridge project I didn't communicate what I learned to my students because I returned the assignments to them on my last day at the middle school. In the high school I will be going over the worksheet with students and focusing on specific items that students struggled with to help them use the homework as an opportunity to clear up confusion.
15: Most Important: Compare your objectives for student learning (both in terms of science concepts and practices) to the student learning you observed. What did you learn about your teaching based on the student performances? What will you do differently next time? Why would you make these changes? What, if anything, will you do to improve the assessment instruments?
My objectives were for students to be able to explain how the earth and society is affected from earthquake waves. Also students should be able to explain how seismic waves propagate, how to interpret scientific representations like graphs, and how to implement the scientific method in a report.
The rest of my objectives were based on my own teaching practices. I wanted to keep students as engaged as possible while still creating meaningful learning that can be validly assessed. I also wanted to find ways to creatively get information across to students so that they can have more of a part in their own learning.
I would change the informal assessment but not the formal assessment. I feel that the formal assessment looks at students knowledge in a thorough enough manner and allows for proper assessment of the concepts being looking at. Students had several options to choose from in how they presented their projects, and these different types of assignments allowed students the freedom to choose to use the type of presentation that best suits their learning styles.
The informal assessment, however, I feel needs to be improved. It would benefit from asking students more higher level thinking questions, and this could be done through editing the current questions to allow for that or adding additional questions to assess higher thought processes. This was just a formative piece that was not meant to be the only assessment of student knowledge on this topic, and so i think it is a usable assessment, but could definitely be edited to be more effective.
Formal and Informal Assessment of Student Learning
Name: Jennifer Cullen
I. Assignment Description/Requirements
II. Preparation / Development
1. Reflect on your current assessment practices. How have you been determining what students understand and what they are able to do?
2. Describe the concept(s) that you are trying to assess in these assignments. Include a link to the appropriate GSE(s) on RIScienceTeachers. Be sure to include in your description your definition, examples of what it is, why students have difficulty with this concept, and why it is important that you teach this topic
- 7th Grade
- The formal assessment I designed was assessing student knowledge at the end of a unit on earthquakes. Students were expected to understand the motion of the earth during an earthquake, the way structures on the earths surface are affected by this movement. Students were asked to use the scientific method while constructing a bridge that would be capable of surviving during the movement caused by an earthquake. Student use of the scientific method is being assessed as a large part of this project as well.
- Students had extensively looked at P-waves( Primary waves, body waves and compressional waves that initially are felt during an earthquake causing the least amount of damage), and S-waves(Secondary waves, body waves and transverse waves that follow the P-waves and cause most of the damage accrued during an earthquake).
- Students have difficulty understanding the motion of the earth during an earthquake because it is more of an abstract concept. Until students actually get to do a lab to visualize how seismic waves move through the earth, they have a very difficult time understanding how energy is traveling through the earth to cause an earthquakes. This is a vital topic because earthquakes are something that generally occur in many places across the globe, and being aware of how these event occur and the effect they have on society will make students more aware of the world they live in. Students will also have a better idea of what to expect should they ever be in an area where earthquakes occur and they will understand what can be done to construct earthquake resistant structures.
- 9th Grade -PS3 10a
- I am also working with earthquakes in my informal assessment in a 9th grade physical science class. The concepts being assessed in this assignment are seismic waves. Students are already familiar with light waves, sounds waves, and mechanical waves.
- Seismic waves
- Students were being assessed on their knowledge of primary and secondary waves, and the ways in which these waves travel. Primary waves are compressional and the first waves released during an earthquake. They travel fastest and can move through solids and liquids. Secondary waves are transverse waves, and come after the Primary waves. They travel slower than Primary waves and cannot travel through liquids.
- Students have issues working with these waves because waves are an abstract concept, and using a model such as a spring is useful in demonstrating how the waves move through the earth. It is helpful to teach this right after students have learned about other types of waves because they are already familiar with how waves have to travel through a medium and the ways they can move.
- This is also important to teach so that students can understand the motion of the earth during quakes, and it is a beginning concept students need to learn before looking more deeply into plate tectonics and earthquakes.
This is very interesting. What do you think of:3. (and 7) Describe an informal assessment that you selected, modified, or designed to address this concept. Summarize the instructions you gave your students and Include a link to the informal assessment here as well.
This could be an extremely interesting graph depending on whether students have studied motion. If they have, then this time vs position graph should be compared to the position vs time graphs they used to study motion.
4. (and 8) Create a formal assessment. Describe this assessment, including concepts, types of items, and how it was assessed. Include a link to a copy of the assessment here as well.
5. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your formal assessment or link it here.
6. Develop the evaluation criteria (or key) for your informal assessment or link it here. This description should include the assessment's features, how it addresses different depths of knowledge, as well as an explanation of how it addresses a scientific practice related to inquiry.
Key:
It appears that you did not actually require an explanation for either item 5 or 8 beyond a single sentence. How would you modify these questions to "raise the stakes" on what is expected?
7. & 8. - Already addressed above.
9. For your informal assesssment, upload scans of the work of three or four students. The work of each student should be on a different page. At the bottom of each students' page, you should describe the level of student understanding, e.g. high, average, or low, and describe how this is indicated in their answers. An example of how to do this is here. Note: Remember to name the pages you create carefully, e.g. "Smith S10 - High Performing" instead of "High-Performing."
It would have been nice if you had included interpretations of each set of student work. For example, did you notice that one of your "low performers" appeared to read each axis division on the graph 1 second instead of taking into account the scale on the vertical axis? How might this influence the instructions you provide for the assignment next time?
10. For you formal assessment, describe how you think it addressed the concepts you were trying to assess? How did you modify the assessment to address learning differences or special needs?
III. Analysis / Reflection
11. Use both the informal and formal assessments to describe what you learned about what your students understand about these concepts. Use specific examples from both the informal and formal assessment to illustrate your points. What can your students do now that they could not before, and what do they still need to learn?
So helping your students understand the properties of P and S waves at a deeper level may be something to work on for next time?
12. OMIT
13. For your formal assessment only, select one student characteristic, e.g. ability, gender, age, etc) and compare the relative performance of each group. Hint: Use box and whiskers plots to compare the two groups. What do you conclude from this comparison? Why?
Evidence? Box and Whiskers plot?
14. Describe any ways in which you involved students in self-assessment. How did you communicate what you learned from your informal and formal assessments to your students? What did they do with this information?
15: Most Important: Compare your objectives for student learning (both in terms of science concepts and practices) to the student learning you observed. What did you learn about your teaching based on the student performances? What will you do differently next time? Why would you make these changes? What, if anything, will you do to improve the assessment instruments?